Wildlife Control

The Service Department appreciates your annoyance when your property is visited by undesirable wildlife, however your situation may not warrant trapping by the Village of Orange.

Experts from the Cuyahoga County Department of Health have discussed our options for dealing with wildlife control. The population of wildlife is increasing all over the Greater Cleveland area. One of the reasons is that we are seeing much less disease in these animals, which is nature’s way of thinning out the population. Also, residents are inadvertently feeding these animals and providing them with nesting areas.

Orange Village’s policy is to address only these nuisance animals which directly affect your living quarters. The Village does not trap animals randomly, which is the process of placing traps where there is no evidence of infestation. We trap only at the animals nesting site. This is done for the following reasons.

Random trapping costs enormous amounts of money but accomplishes very little in eliminating the problem.

Current state law requires that skunks, raccoons, and opossums caught in live traps are either euthanized or quarantined for sixty-five (65) days before release back into the wild.

Animal wardens cannot control what is caught in these live traps such as cats or neighbors pets. Animals identified as belonging to a resident will be returned to the resident at owners expense.

There are many things residents can and must do to encourage these animals to move out of the community. Everyone must work together to eliminate their food sources and nesting areas. If you follow the advice below, the animals will be less likely to nest or feed on your property. If your neighbors also do their part, the animals will be encouraged to leave our community.

Wildlife Control Advice:

ELIMINATE THE FOOD SOURCE

Place garbage in cans with lids.

If you must use plastic trash bags, keep them in your garage until the morning of your trash pickup. Don’t put them out at night when the skunks and raccoons come out to eat.

Rid your lawn of grubs. Fall is the ideal time to use products with the active ingredients of merit or diazinon to kill grubs, but they can also be treated in the spring. Ask at a garden center for details.

Remove any decaying wood and raise wood piles at least 6 inches off the ground. Bugs in decaying wood are tasty treats for wildlife.

Maintain your compost pile

ELIMINATE THE NESTING AREAS

Seal decks, porches, sheds, slab additions, garages and air-conditioning compressor platforms. Attach welded-wire fencing to the bottom of the building or platform with construction staples or nails. Bring the fencing down to the ground, bend and bring it out across the ground at least 18 inches. To hide the fencing, allow grass to grow through or cover with mulch or landscaping. (During new construction, simply take the wire down into the ground.

Again…maintain your compost pile

Remove piles of brush

Cap your chimneys.

Seal all vents (including the dryer vent) with welded-wire fencing

If after doing all of the above, you are still experiencing problems please contact the Service Department for further assistance or possible trapping.

Wildlife Control Tips

If you are experiencing a wildlife problem check your property for the following problem areas. These problem areas may be the cause or contributing factor to your wildlife problem.

Improperly maintained bird feeders attract more than just birds. Skunks, opossums, raccoons, squirrels and possibly rats will also be attracted.

Wood piles must be raised at least 6″ off the ground to properly circulate air and prevent decaying. Discard any decaying wood, as bugs in the decaying wood are a tasty treat for wildlife.

Use grub control on lawns to rid yard of grubs. Skunks and raccoons dine on these and will destroy lawns to get the.

Unsealed decks, sheds, slab add-ons, garages, air conditioning platforms etc. are target areas for burrows and nesting, as they provide warm, cozy shelters throughout the year. Sealing these problem areas with welded-wire fencing will eliminate the potential for future problems. Attach fencing to the bottom of the building with construction staples or nails and bring fencing down to the ground, bend and bring out across ground at least 18″. Grass will grow through, or cover the mulch, landscaping, etc..

Compost piles not properly maintained and brush piles also draw wildlife providing them with food and shelter.

Chimneys should be capped to prevent raccoons, squirrels, etc. from using them as “hollow trees” to call home. All vents should be sealed with welded wire fencing, and don’t forget the dryer vent.

Additional Questions

For additional help with wildlife control contact Greg Miller Animal Control at 440-232-2964.

Resources from the
Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Coyotes are normally timid animals and try to avoid people. The vast majority of encounters with humans are brief: a flash of tawny brown fur or a bushy, black-tipped tail. Coyote attacks on humans are very rare.

However, coyotes can pose a threat. They will defend dens and pups during their January to June mating and pup-rearing season. Coyotes sometimes snatch small dogs or cats although they prefer mice and other small rodents, rabbits birds, fruit and carrion.

The menacing wolf-coyote hybrids invading America’s cities

An published by “The Week” sheds light on the growing number of coyotes in our cities. Click here to read the article.

PROTECTING YOUR PET
Coyotes are night animals so it is suggested that lighting up your yard will keep them away. They have an instinctual fear of fire and light triggers the same response. Keep all trash in locked cans or dumpsters. Keep your yard gardens and compost piles well enclosed.If at all possible, it is best to keep pets inside and away from coyotes. When pets are in the yard, especially small cats and dogs, stay with them or keep them enclosed within a high fence. Coyotes are not high jumpers.

If a coyote approaches as you are walking:

Make a lot of noise to scare the coyote away

Make eye contact

Yell

Never turn away from a coyote

Pets and coyotes can coexist in the same area. Following some of the above precautions can keep your pet safe and ensure that both can live in harmony.

Coyote Sightings

Several residents have reported seeing coyotes. We would like to remind our residents of what to do if you see a coyote near your home.

Per the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Ohio wildlife biologists are frequently contacted by concerned residents who spot coyotes in highly developed areas. This is often not cause for alarm. Coyotes are highly adaptable animals that live in a wide variety of environments thus there is no need to report sightings to wildlife officials unless the animal appears hurt, sick, or habituated. Here are a few steps to keep in mind when you encounter an urban coyote in the Buckeye State.

1. Understand that coyotes are common throughout Ohio’s 88 counties and are regularly seen within city limits. Read more about coyotes and other wildlife at wildlife.ohiodnr.gov

2. There are no wolves living in the wild in Ohio.

3. If you spot a coyote on your property, make sure to remove all “attractants” to deter the coyote from returning. This includes removing garbage and pet food primarily before nightfall and cleaning up around the grill. Do not feed coyotes directly.

4. Coyotes prey primarily on small mammals such as rabbits and rodents. However, interactions with domestic pets do occur sometimes. Keep small dogs and cats inside (especially after nightfall) or leashed when outside. Motion-sensitive lighting tends to be helpful too at keeping wildlife away from your home.

5. Occasionally, an inquisitive coyote will stay put and watch you curiously. Make noise. Clap your hands and shout; the coyote will likely move on at this point. If it doesn’t, throw objects like rocks at it to scare it away. A coyote that loses its fear of humans could potentially become a threat.

6. If the coyote visiting your yard does not respond to harassment techniques such as loud noises or it is presenting a conflict even after removing attractants from your yard, contact a nuisance trapper. Nuisance trappers use highly regulated techniques to reduce urban wildlife conflicts. Coyote populations in rural areas can be managed through legal hunting and trapping methods. Consult the yearly “Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations” digest for more information.

Nusiance Animal Abatement

Orange Village council believes that the general interests of the Village will be advanced if nuisance animals are abated from within the Village.Village Council has given the Orange Village Police Department the authority to issue hunting priviledges IF AND WHEN an animal is considered a nuisance.

Hunting is NOT PERMMITTED in Orange Village, without express written permission from the Orange Village Police Department.

Dear Applicant,In an effort to make our program productive and safe I must insist that all participants FOLLOW THE RULES AND REGULATIONS TO THEIR LETTER OR FORFIETURE OF YOUR PERMIT WILL FOLLOW.The following pages in this section of our website explain the process of obtaining permission to hunt nuisance animals and the regulations that apply.All applicants are required to meet with me at the police department prior to the issuance of any permit. During our meeting we will discuss, among other things, safety, state and local laws and any questions you may have that need to be addressed. You may find it helpful to visit the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Website at www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife for more information.Please read our local ordinance 505.11 and have completed all of the forms in the application and bring them with you to our meeting. This includes your Certified Archery Proficiency Test. This process must be completed every year.Local ordinance 505.11

(a) No person shall hunt, kill or attempt to kill any animal or fowl by the use of firearms, bow and arrow, air rifle or any other means within the corporate limits of the Municipality, except that limited hunting may be permitted upon the following terms and conditions:

(1) Council shall have determinmed that a nuisance condition exists within the Village, the animal or fowl creating the nuisance and the specific area or areas within the Village of not less than five (5) contiguous acres in which the nuisance is located; and

(2) No firearms are used; and

(3) The Chief of Police or his or her designated representative within the Police Department shall have issued a limited hunting permit only after determining that the applicant has complied with all laws, rules and regulations of the State and has the written permission of the owner of the property involved. The permit shall be subject to such reasonable requirements as are deemed necessary to preserve and protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Village and shall be conditioned upon the applicant complying with all laws, rules and regulations of the State. All applicants shall agree, in writing, to defend and indemnify the Village for any negligent acts committed by the applicant while exercising rights granted hereunder. This agreement shall be a part of the application, and signed by the applicant.

(b) For the purposes of this section:

(1) “Nuisance condition” means an identifiable specie of animal is causing continuing or repeated annoyance, inconvenience, alarm, discomfort, injury or damage to persons or property within the Village.

(2) “Five (5) contiguous acres” means an assemblage of one or more parcels of land which total more than two hundred seventeen thousand eight hundred (217,800) square feet.

(c) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

(Ord. 2004-34. Passed 10-5-05.)

I may be reached at 440-287-5212 or via e-mail. Please leave me a detailed voice message that includes your name and telephone number (even if you think I have it) and I will call you at my earliest opportunity.